Zest BooksTeen Reads With a Twist2015-03-25T16:43:00Zhttp://zestbooks.net/feed/atom/WordPressZest Bookshttp://zestbooks.nethttp://zestbooks.net/?p=83592015-02-06T19:40:37Z2015-02-06T19:38:38Z... Read more ]]>ABOUT ROCKIN’ THE BOATRockin’ the Boat: 50 Iconic Revolutionaries fromJoan of Arc to Malcolm X tells the stories of a wide variety of rebels and revolutionaries throughout history, including winners and losers, heroes and anti-heroes, military leaders and non-violent protesters, ancient and modern figures. It covers their motivations, the tactics they tried, and the impact they made. The book is designed to introduce readers to historical changemakers they might know little about, and teach them more about those they already know.

INTERVIEW WITH JEFF FLEISCHER, AUTHOR OF ROCKIN’ THE BOAT

Zest Books: Why did you write this particular book?

Jeff Fleischer: The history nerd side of me has always been interested in movements, and the way they often coalesce around an individual leader. Regardless of their cause, every revolutionary takes on a real risk – at least failure, and often jail or death – but they also have to inspire a lot of followers if they’re going to succeed. Studs Terkel, a journalist I always looked up to, used to tell a story about two men who marched for civil rights with Martin Luther King. One was lamenting that nobody would remember their names, and the other responded that they would be remembered because people would always know about Dr. King. In that way, this book is about many thousands of people, told through the stories of fifty leaders. Like Dr. King, those leaders can inspire real progress, or like some of the others, they can set things back considerably and leave a trail of destruction. But they’re all worth learning about, and I hope the book gets readers interested in learning more about them.

ZB: What was the most interesting thing about covering so many revolutionaries in the same book?

JF: Most of the revolutionaries in the book are people we usually think about in the context of their own time and place. But researching and writing about fifty of them in such a short span of time, the links between them become part of the story. Just like how Cesar Chavez was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s work in India, Gandhi’s early activism in South Africa inspired Nelson Mandela. Julius Caesar got the idea from Hannibal to cross the Alps with an army. Martin Luther admired Arminius and gave him a new name to stress their shared German heritage. Fidel Castro inspired his troops by telling stories about Simon Bolivar. One of Toussaint Louverture’s nicknames during his slave uprising was the “black Spartacus.” There are countless links like this, and thinking about them helped bring the fifty chapters together as a book.

ZB: What was the most fun part of the writing process?

JF: I have a lot of random historical trivia floating around in my head, so it’s always nice to put some of it to practical use. I really enjoyed writing a lot of the sidebars. Some were ways to point out why these people are still relevant, or to debunk common myths about them, or to link the chapters to one another, or just to include interesting asides to the main story.

ZB: Who else did you want to include?

JF: That’s a long list. When I first submitted the proposal to my editor, I started with a list of about one hundred and twenty possible revolutionaries, and together we brainstormed even more. That meant a lot of really interesting and important people weren’t included – not because they weren’t just as worthy, but there were only so many spots. Leon Trotsky, Emmeline Pankhurst, Jean-Jacques Dessalines…there are definitely more than enough to fill a second book.

ZB: Which revolutionary was your favorite to write about?

JF: It’s hard to pick one. I’ve always been fascinated by Hannibal and the Second Punic War, especially the way he was able to use smart planning and tactics to defeat armies that were a lot bigger than his and had much more at stake, all with little support from back home. I’ve always considered him a great underdog story. I particularly liked writing about people like Kate Sheppard, who should be much better known than she is outside of New Zealand, and who I hope the book can introduce to more people. As I say in the introduction, I remember watching Nelson Mandela leave prison, and I’ve followed his life story since I was quite young. For a long time, he was always at the top of my list of people I hoped to interview one day.

MORE ABOUT JEFF FLEISCHER

Jeff Fleischer is a Chicago-based author, journalist and editor. He is the author of the non-fiction books Rockin’ the Boat: 50 Iconic Revolutionaries from Joan of Arc to Malcolm X and The Latest Craze: A Brief History of Mass Hysterias. He has also co-written a textbook on environmental science for high-school students, edited dozens of books for other writers, had current-affairs articles included in numerous textbooks and non-fiction collections, and published several short-fiction pieces in the Chicago Tribune’s literary magazine Printers Row. His journalism work has appeared in publications including Mother Jones, The Sydney Morning Herald, Chicago Magazine, Mental Floss, National Geographic Traveler, The New Republic, The Chicago Tribune, BuzzFlash, Women’s eNews, Forbes Travel, Chicago Wilderness, World Jewish Digest, The (Chicago) Daily Herald, and many other consumer and trade publications. His work has been published or syndicated in more than thirty countries on every continent but Antarctica. He was also 2008 Alicia Patterson Foundation fellow in Oceania.

Jeff has interviewed subjects ranging from a former American president and the head of UN peacekeeping in Rwanda to a Pulitzer-winning graphic novelist and a member of Monty Python. He spent a month reporting on a remote Pacific atoll, was taught how to throw a googly by one of the world’s best cricket bowlers, lectured to law students about his research, and covered multiple state and presidential elections. His hobbies include fiction writing, photography, visual artwork, travel, following sports (particularly the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bulls and New Zealand All Blacks), and building an ever-growing music collection.

This incredibly wide-ranging collection of maps — all inspired by literary classics — offers readers a new way of looking at their favorite fictional worlds. Andrew DeGraff’s stunningly detailed artwork takes readers deep into the landscapes from The Odyssey, Hamlet, Pride and Prejudice, Invisible Man, Lord of the Flies, A Wrinkle in Time, Watership Down, The Handmaid’s Tale, and more. Sure to reignite a love for old favorites and spark fresh interest in more recent works as well, Plotted provides a unique new way of appreciating the lands of the human imagination.

]]>0Zest Bookshttp://zestbooks.nethttp://zestbooks.net/?p=80322015-02-23T17:20:14Z2015-02-03T20:42:21Zby Onnesha Roychoudhuri, illustrated by Jesse RiggleComing in April!Go to Hells is a witty and illustrated twist on Dante’s Inferno, with 71 new hells for modern sins—such as talking during movies, PDA, and more! Read More]]>by Kali V. Roy, illustrated by Jesse Riggle

In the 1300s, Dante described only nine circles of hell in the underworld. Since then? No new updates. Thankfully, Go to Hells picks up where Dante left off, providing readers with a much-needed expanded edition of the Inferno. Included in this volume-in-verse are helpful descriptions and illustrations of the contemporary hell circles that have cropped up since Dante’s times, like Canker Sores, for example. The guiding maxim of Go to Hells? We all know that the devil is in the details. So when you tell someone to go to hell, you should be as specific as possible. Covering everything from Movie Talkers and Loud Typers, to Reply All-ers and those guilty of chronic PDA, Go to Hells provides all the details the savvy crank needs to keep pace with the new and ever-more-irksome irritations of the modern world.

When Emily Lindin was eleven years old, she was branded a “slut” by the rest of her classmates. For the next few years of her life, she was bullied incessantly at school, after school, and online. At the time, Emily didn’t feel comfortable confiding in her parents or in the other adults in her life. But she did keep a diary.

UnSlut presents that diary, word for word, with split-page commentary to provide context and perspective. This unique diary and memoir sheds light on the important issues of sexual bullying, slut-shaming, and the murky mores of adolescent sexual development. Readers will see themselves in Emily’s story—whether as the bully, the shamed, or the passive bystander. This book also includes advice and commentary from a variety of distinguished experts.

]]>0Zest Bookshttp://zestbooks.nethttp://zestbooks.net/?p=82932015-02-25T17:43:48Z2015-02-02T22:49:31Zby Hallie Fryd, illustrated by Julia GfrörerComing in September!This adult coloring book offers a lurid window into some of the most fascinating and shockingly violent stories in history—the lives of the saints.Read More]]>by Hallie Fryd, illustrated by Julia Gfrörer

The lives of the saints are filled with inspiring, life-changing moments—but the deaths of the martyrs are where you’ll find the real “Oh, hell no!” moments of history. This adult (very adult, as the body count will quickly indicate) coloring book gives aspiring crayon and paper artists the chance to hone their craft while also buffing up their knowledge of Catholic history and tales. The attending stories will go down pretty easy at cocktail hours as well.

Each intricately detailed illustration leaves plenty of room for interpretation. How will you render the sea that drowned St. Clement (or the anchor that was tied around his neck at the time)? The clubs and arrows that stilled St. Valentine’s heart? The galadiator that finished St. Perpetua? And what about the scene surrounding St. Elmo when he passed on? (Don’t ask.) The lives and deaths of the saints are shockingly detailed, but in the text they always appear in black and white—and now it’s time to color. (Pro tip: Make sure you have more than one red crayon handy.)

McNeil Island in Washington state was the home of the last prison island in the US, accessible only by air or sea. It was also home to about fifty families, including Colleen Frakes’ when she was growing up. Colleen’s parents—like nearly everyone else on the island—both worked in the prison, where her father was the prison’s captain and her mother worked in security. The island functioned as a “company town,” where
housing was assigned based on rank, and even children’s actions could have an impact on a family’s livelihood: If you broke a rule, your family could be kicked out of their home.

In the graphic memoir Prison Island, Colleen tells her story of growing up on the McNeil Island. Beyond the irregularities of living in a company town near a prison, remote island life posed other challenges to Colleen and her sister. Regular teenage activities like ordering a pizza or going to the movies became extremely complicated endeavors on the island, and the small-town dynamics were amplified by their isolation from surrounding cities. Prison Island tells the story of a typical girl growing up in atypical circumstances using stark, engaging graphic novel panels. It’s a story that is simultaneously familiar and foreign, and readers will be surprised to see parts of themselves in Colleen’s unique experience.

Dinner for one can be a lonely, tasteless prospect. But when dinner (or lunch, breakfast, or a snack, for that matter) is made in a mug, it suddenly becomes a whole lot more fun. From blueberry muffins and quiches to mac ‘n cheese and chocolate peanut butter cake, Mug It! contains 60 simple, delicious, recipes for every taste and craving. Perfect for after-school snacks, dorm room dinners, quick lunches at the office, and more, this book will change the way you think about mealtime. Easy-to-follow recipes and four-color photographs of quirky, playful mugs make Mug It! the perfect cookbook for nearly anyone who has a mug, a microwave, and an appetite.

Middle school is a tough time for nearly everyone, but it can be especially hard on girls. Between social and cultural pressures, academic challenges, family dynamics, changing hormones, and a growing awareness of the world around them, middle school girls often end up feeling voiceless and powerless. They can struggle with speaking in class, standing up for their beliefs, navigating complicated social situations, and generally letting their voices be heard.

Speak Up! confronts these issues head on. In a relatable, frank tone, Speak Up! lets young girls know that what they have to say is important and that their thoughts are worth hearing. By presenting real issues and scenarios that girls will recognize from their own day-to-day lives, as well as exploring the negative thoughts and feelings that can hold them back, Speak Up! will supply girls with the tools they need to understand their feelings and speak up in any situation. Interactive exercises, lists, real-life examples, and attractive graphics will keep the readers engaged from start to finish. More than a book about self-esteem, Speak Up! addresses the cultural factors that hold girls back, and features real strategies to enable them in finding, and using, their voices.

]]>0Zest Bookshttp://zestbooks.nethttp://zestbooks.net/?p=82792015-02-23T18:22:59Z2015-02-02T21:26:44Zby Eric SilverComing in June!A guide to the quotes, tactics, and unbelievable anecdotes from the worst celebrities from the last one hundred years.Read More]]>by Eric Silver

As a society, we find several occasions to heap accolades on the artists among us: the musicians, painters, writers, actors, and athletes who inspire us with their accomplishments. But rarer is the celebration of an equally audacious and inspiring achievement: of being an infamous celebrity. This book collects and profiles the worst celebrities from the last hundred years, from Ernest Hemingway to Kanye West.

How was it they managed to offend an entire demographic and apologize by blaming them for not understanding? How did they somehow center themselves in the middle of a tragedy that had absolutely nothing to do with them? How is it that every single move they made in each “episode arc” of public life seems to troll horrified onlookers further and further, until they begin to question their own sanity? These are questions answered in the form of loving, nonjudgmental profiles reveling in the effectiveness of each move, as well as sidebars pulling out lessons for the novice asshole. For example, you may not know this, but claiming any selfish or sociopathic behavior on your part is simply “performance art” is one of the best ways to rise in the upper echelons of assholery—just ask Shia Labeouf!

Each profile includes an illustrated portrait, a short biography, a catalog of their best and worst achievements, and an in-depth explanation of what makes these achievements so noteworthy. Other features include how they rank in comparison, sidebars pointing out master maneuvers, and infamous quotes.

]]>0Zest Bookshttp://zestbooks.nethttp://zestbooks.net/?p=82742015-02-23T18:23:40Z2015-02-02T20:50:03Zby Jennifer Castle and Deborah Reber, illustrated by Kaela GrahamComing in August!With quizzes, polls, activities, and advice from real kids, this book is the ultimate guide to middle school friendships.Read More]]>by Jennifer Castle and Deborah Reber

Middle school friendships can be a source of great joy one day, then pain and anxiety the next. Friends and Frenemies examines the complexities of friendship and helps readers start building communication tools that will last a lifetime. The book tackles big questions such as: “How can I make friends?” and “What if I feel like I need to end a friendship?” Friends and Frenemies includes not just advice, but also comments from real kids, advice from older teens who have been there and done that, quizzes, polls, and other interactive elements that encourage readers to engage with the book, adding their own thoughts and experiences.